


new year's eve

by ryuddaengz



Category: ITZY (Band)
Genre: F/F, New Year's Kiss, lots of fluff i think, ryujin kisses other girls wish it was me, very gay yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28652913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryuddaengz/pseuds/ryuddaengz
Summary: yeji doesn't want to keep seeing ryujin kiss other girls when the clock strikes at 12.
Relationships: Hwang Yeji/Shin Ryujin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 78





	new year's eve

**december 31, 2020; 11:58PM**

yeji was at a party.

it was chaeryeong's annual new year's party at her small yet cozy house, in the basement, where she and her medium sized circle of friends spend the upcoming new year.

but right now yeji wasn't enjoying the company of people. she preferred to be sat outside of the house at this moment, when all the fireworks could set off any moment.

she was alone.

it was perfect.

**december 31, 2017; 11:24PM**

yeji sat on the couch, almost away from everyone, (it's impossible to be away from everyone for the basement wasn't big) eating a bag of tortilla chips she found on the table.

yeji attended her first new year's party, which her bestfriend, chaeryeong, forced her to go to.

she felt very out of place for she only knew chaeryeong, though a lot of the faces in the room were familiar having seen them around the neighborhood or the hallways of school. 

she sighed.

"not having fun?" a low voice asked.

yeji whipped her head up and was met by entrancing brown eyes paired with a smile. her breath stuck in her throat as she stared at the short haired girl.

"my name's ryujin."

"u-uh, i am. having fun, i mean. i'm yeji." she answered and the girl chuckled.

"you don't have to hide it you know," she said. "mind if i give you company on this fine new year's eve?"

at that, yeji smiled. "no, i don't mind."

"i was looking for the tortilla chips earlier. the salsa dip doesn't really go well with kimchi."

"you dipped it?" yeji asked, looking at ryujin dumbfoundedly. "i can't even imagine how it tastes."

ryujin laughed, and yeji noticed the dimples on her cheek. like a cat. she found it very endearing. "i like trying out new food combinations. for example, hot cheetos in mayonnaise."

"you're disgusting."

"hey! it tasted decent. i should make you try it one time."

"no way," yeji shook her head. "just thinking about the taste makes me shudder."

_"10!"_

the new year's countdown began. yeji and ryujin looked at each other and smiled. 

"9!" ryujin joined in.

"8!" yeji heard a voice shouting in their direction. it was heejin, heading closer to where she and ryujin were seated.

" _7! 6! 5! 4!"_

when the clock struck exactly at 12AM, heejin lightly pressed her lips against ryujin's. ryujin let her of course. it was the new year of 2017.

**december 31, 2018; 10:58PM**

ryujin liked to dance.

very much so, and on the top of the small coffee table. yeji was afraid she'd fall from how much she's moving.

"come on yeji, dance with me!" she excitedly invited the older girl.

she shook her head from the couch she was sitting on and it caused ryujin to frown. she stepped down on the table and grabbed a hold of yeji's wrist.

"come on, it's our anniversary tonight! you're my bestfriend, you're obliged to dance with me."

"i'm not your bestfriend, hyunjin is."

"no, you are." ryujin argued. "but hyunjin is too, and chaeryeong, yeojin, and hyejoo."

"i've never seen them dance with you." yeji tried to remove ryujin's grip from her, but the other girl was way stronger.

"that's because i don't wanna dance with them," ryujin pouts and yeji almost gives in. "i want you to dance with me."

though the cute act almost made yeji waver, she strongly refused. "there's a lot of people, you can't expect me to dance here."

"but that's the best part! you have an audience."

"still a no, shin ryujin." yeji says. "i'll just watch you dance from afar."

"alright but one day, i'll make you dance with me." ryujin says with determinatation before she went back to her rightful dance floor; the coffee table.

yeji smiles to herself, thinking of how cute the younger girl was.

then the music stopped.

_"10!"_

_"9!"_

_"8!"_

_"7!"_

_"6!"_

yeji saw someone approaching ryujin, stepping up with her on the coffee table and wrapping her arms around ryujin's neck. 

she couldn't quite see who it was but ryujin uttered a few words and a smile before pressing their lips together.

another year.

**december 31, 2019; 10:43PM**

"i still don't understand how people just kiss on new years." yeji blurts out.

"what do you mean?" ryujin asks.

yeji sighs and waves her hand around. "i don't know, it feels like taking advantage of the person or some sort."

ryujin chuckles at that. "it's really not though, it may be a weird sorta tradition, but there's still consent to it."

"h-how? i see people just crashing their lips to whoever's beside them."

"it's the eyebrows. look at me." ryujin says and yeji does as she's told.

ryujin raises her eyebrows slightly, her eyes soft and so full of warmth that her whole face literally asks, "can i kiss you?"

yeji buys it.

"look, you gotta try it for yourself." ryujin says. "so you'll know."

"not interested, i was just curious as to how they do these kinds of things."

ryujin grins and nods. "whatever fits your shoe."

"isn't it supposed to be, 'whatever floats your boat'?"

"it's the same thing."

"no, it isn't."

"yes it is." ryujin defends and stands up from the couch. "dance with me?"

"nice try, but no thanks."

ryujin sighs. "try again next year then."

yeji smiles as she watches ryujin jump towards the coffee table, waving around her arms as she shouts and dances to a blackpink song.

yeji was left on her own again, even though ryujin would look at her sometimes and make silly faces just to make her smile. it worked all the time.

 _"10!"_ the countdown began.

_"9!"_

_"8!"_

ryujin jumped off the table, making her way towards yeji. the younger girl offered her a smile.

_"7!"_

_"6!"_

however, before ryujin could even reach the couch where yeji was, a girl grabbed her wrists and turned her around. it was somi, ryujin's classmate and also the entire neighborhood's heartthrob.

_"5!"_

_"4!"_

yeji could see somi raising her eyebrows at ryujin, the same exact feelings that ryujin demonstrated earlier plastered on her face.

_"3!"_

yeji could see ryujin smile.

_"2!"_

yeji looked away.

_"1!"_

another year.

**april 14, 2020**

_yeji: happy birthday ryuddaeng, i miss you!_

_ryujin: i miss you too... :(_

_yeji: what's with the sad face?_

_ryujin: i haven't seen you in two months, i feel like you look different now._

_yeji: you're exaggerating, i look the same!_   
_yeji: and you're acting like we don't vc almost everyday_

_ryujin: buuuuut i still miss you_   
_ryujin: can we vc later? when we're done celebrating here_

_yeji: but won't it be late by then? you need sleep, you have school tmrw_

_ryujin: i want to see you_

with that, yeji couldn't argue. how could she, when all she wanted was the same?

ryujin moved to the other side of the world, to get better education as the younger girl's father would say. she has been there for months, and yeji longed to see her in person again.

over the past few years, she and ryujin had grown close. not only do they attend the same school, but coincidentally ended up in the same club the next schoolyear after the evening they met.

they were inseparable for a year, always beside each other at lunch, in club, and outside the school. but of course, they couldn't always stay that way.

yeji graduated in the year of 2018, and stayed at their hometown, going to the nearest college there was. ryujin graduated the following year, and moved to america.

yeji misses her.

**november 19, 2020**

_ryujin: [sent a picture]_   
_ryujin: the snow here is much thicker than it is in korea_   
_ryujin: it's so cold_

_yeji: it looks pretty_   
_yeji: i haven't been outside in a while, i probably should_

_ryujin: yeah, you definitely should_   
_ryujin: eat some burgers for me at our favorite place_

_yeji: i have no one to accompany me_

_ryujin: we can vc_   
_ryujin: but it's a bit late there, i doubt mrs. hwang would let you anyways 😂_

_yeji: maybe if you or chaeryeong were here :(_

_ryujin: miss me already?_   
_ryujin: wait, i'll call you._

**december 31, 2020; 9:38PM**

"yeji!" chaeryeong jumped at the older girl, wrapping her in a warm hug. "i missed you so much!"

"me too." yeji says as they pull away.

"was it hard staying here? i wish i didn't move away, but my mom wanted me in seoul."

"it was," yeji says, her mind going back to ryujin. it was hard without her.

"come in," chaeryeong invited her inside, and down to the basement where they usually held the party. "is ryujin coming home?"

"yeah." yeji smiles. "she is, i think she's on her way now."

"that's good! we'll be complete again."

"oh, is everyone else going home?"

"they wouldn't miss my parties for anything." chaeryeong winks and moved away, over to the snack bar.

as time passed by, more and more people flooded the room. it was amazing how just three years ago, she was not fairly acquianted with all these people yet now, she's close enough with all of them to consider them her friends.

"ryujin!" someone shouted and yeji whips her head towards where the sound came from.

she was surrounded by so many people, recieving so mant hugs and cheek kisses. yeji watches from afar, a smile on her face.

then ryujin sees her. she smiled widely, like she always did with her whisker dimples and excused herself walking towards her bestfriend.

"yeji," she whispered.

"ryujin."

the younger girl wrapped her arm around yeji's waist, leaning down and placing her chin on yeji's shoulder.

"you got taller."

"i did, but you're still taller." ryujin snuggles closer to her, her lips grazing yeji's neck that the elder could feel ryujin smile against her. she shivers.

ryujin finally pulls away and intertwines yeji's fingers with hers, and drags her around the room as the younger catches up with her friends.

"so you and heejin, huh. and you didn't even tell me over text!" ryujin exclaims at hyunjin. they were located near the snack bar, hyunjin sat down on a chair and heejin on her left thigh. there weren't a lot of seats, and that deemed the best option for the couple.

"that's nice, you finally found the one for you." yeji feels ryujin's hold on her hand tighten at her own statement.

"i'm going to get some chips." yeji says and removes ryujin's hand from hers. she could feel her palm sweating from how much she and ryujin held hands tonight.

she grabs some tortilla chips and sat down on the couch, where she usually would be, and watches ryujin go around the room and greeting everyone.

**now playing: eyes, nose, lips by taeyang**

ryujin hears the first notes of the song and smiles to herself. she excuses herself from jisu and chaeryeong, making her way over to yeji.

"dance with me?" she asked the older girl.

"ryujin, you know i won't dance with you if there are people around."

"come on, it's our song. it was playing when we first talked."

"how do you know what was playing at that time?" yeji raises her eyebrows at her.

"i remember everything. after all, you made my life different after that year." ryujin grins. "so please, dance with me? it's our anniversary, and our song is playing."

"i'm... shy."

"we don't have to dance with everyone around," she says and offers her hand. "trust me."

how could yeji say no? she reaches out her hand, ryujin entwining their fingers tightly again as she maneuvers around the crowd and leads them up the stairway. they were techinically alone, and they can hear the music well.

"wait a second." ryujin says and heads down again, and yeji can hear the music repeat.

ryujin makes her way back, and smiles at yeji. "i put it on repeat. people will skip it once they notice."

they stood in silence, looking at each other. "dance with me?"

yeji places her hand on ryujin's shoulder, and the other held by the younger girl's hand. ryujin also places her left hand on yeji's shoulder, before swaying along to the song.

"you know, i think you've changed." ryujin whispers.

"i didn't." yeji defends.

"you did. you changed the most out of everyone."

"i think i was the one who stayed the same. still here in daegu, while everyone moved away. i'm still the same old me."

"no you're not." ryujin says, voice almost scratchy that yeji thinks she might cry.

the door opens, and mrs. lee makes her way down the steps with a plate of brownies. "oh, ryujin! you're back. how was america?"

ryujin pulls yeji closer to her, placing the hand on her waist on her back, so that mrs. lee could pass and go downstairs.

the proximity makes yeji dizzy. she could smell ryujin's perfume, she could smell ryujin, and she could feel ryujin's breath near her. god, this was driving her insane.

"it was okay, mrs. lee." ryujin answers, and yeji can feel ryujin's lips move against her ear.

they stay like that even after mrs. lee came back up.

"ryujin, we're not dancing anymore." yeji says.

"i know." ryujin sighs. "i don't care."

"but i thought you wanted to dance?"

"we did already. now i want you close to me."

"are we.... not close enough?" yeji asks.

"no." ryujin removed their entwined hands and hugged yeji closer. "you're still so far away."

"i'm right here, ryu."

ryujin whines and buries her head in yeji's shoulder. "please don't leave me again."

yeji thinks, _but you're the one who left me here._

"please don't go. you're not close enough. i-" yeji pats the younger's head affectionately and ryujin thinks she could cry.

ryujin peppers kisses against yeji's neck and yeji shivers. ryujin sighs.

"please don't leave."

"i won't. i'm always here."

———————

eventually, someone noticed that the song was on repeat and changed it. making yeji and ryujin pull away from each other's warmth.

they both went downstairs again, eating, talking with everyone. around 11:57PM, yeji went upstairs and out the front door, where she sat on the steps of the lee household's front porch.

she was alone.

it was perfect.

she didn't have to see someone else kiss ryujin when the clock struck 12.

she didn't have to see someone raising their eyebrows at ryujin, and the latter smiling at them before kissing.

none of that this year.

she downs the whole cup of iced tea that she had with her and looked up at the sky. at this hour it was quiet, for people were sure to set off their fireworks at exactly 12AM.

yeji hears the front door opening and stood up, thinking it could be either mr. or mrs. lee.

but it was ryujin.

"hey," the younger girl says. her demeanor seemed shy, almost, but she always bring herself up in a way that it wasn't obvious. "yuna told me you went up, so i figured it myself that you'll be outside."

"let's sit down." yeji offers, and they did.

silence.

then the whole neighborhood started counting down.

_"10!"_

_"9!"_

"hey yeji," ryujin began. "uhm."

_"8!"_

_"7!"_

ryujin raises her eyebrows at her, repeating the same action she demonstrated for yeji last year.

_"6!"_

ryujin inches closer, connecting her forehead with the flabbergasted girl.

yeji can't believe this is happening.

_"5!"_

"i know i already raised my eyebrows at you and silently asked you but,"

_"4!"_

"can i kiss you?" ryujin whispers. yeji can feel her breath fan against her lips.

_"3!"_

"yeah," yeji breathes out.

_"2!"_

"you can, kiss me."

ryujin smiles.

_"1!"_

the fireworks went off, along with their lips connecting in the night. ryujin smiles as they kiss.

the younger thinks, _this is it. she's so close to me now._

they kiss until their breaths get knocked out of their lungs, and kiss again once they had enough oxygen in their system.

a happy new year.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a bit late, but tell me what you think! ❤


End file.
